Neurofibromatosis with borderline lepromatous Hansen′s disease: a rare coexistence

• Published in: Egyptian journal of dermatology and venereology 2016-06, Vol.36 (1), p.23-25
• Main Author: Tiwary, Pankaj
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1110-6530; 2314-7407
• DOI: 10.4103/1110-6530.194159

Leprosy and neurofibromatosis are two diseases having varied etiology and pathology. Neurofibromatosis has earlier been reported to coexist with lepromatous, histoid, pure neuritic, and borderline tuberculoid leprosy but not with borderline lepromatous leprosy. A 15-year-old boy presented with numerous soft, skin-colored papules and nodules distributed over his entire abdomen and back and also involving his upper limbs, and multiple, pale, and slightly numb patches over his back and both upper arms, which were gradually increasing in size. Biopsy from the hypopigmented lesion over the back revealed a periadnexal and perivascular infiltrate of epithelioid and histiocytic cells with lymphocytes, whereas biopsy from the lesion of neurofibroma over his arm showed a dermal proliferation of wavy spindle cells with a myxoid stroma containing mast cells. Coexistence of these two disorders is usually difficult to diagnose owing to overlapping clinical features. This case has been reported for its diagnostic implications and therapeutic hindrances.